1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system capable of accepting a plurality of jobs, a job processing method, a printing device, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, office-equipment makers and the like are examining new entry into this new POD(print-on-demand) market (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-165722). While watching market trends, they are making a close study of a printing device and printing system available even in the POD environment assuming use cases and needs different from those in the office environment. In a printing environment such as the POD market, it will be important how to increase productivity in the printing system. The method of facilitating the use of the printing system by the operator of the printing system while maintaining high productivity will be important.
As described above, in order to enter the POD market, office-equipment makers and the like desirably assume the circumstance of the POD market and cope with any situation which hardly occurs in the office environment. In other words, it is necessary to fully study digital printing systems suited to the POD environment toward practical use of products, as described in the reference. To make the printing system practicable even in the POD environment, many matters and problems remain unexamined by configurations disclosed in the reference.
For example, when the cover unit (e.g., front cover) of a device that is operable by an operator is open in a printing system configured in consideration of the office environment, a print operation in the device is inhibited and cannot be executed. This configuration is useful for preventing any trouble in the office environment where even a user unfamiliar with the operation exists. This configuration is naturally accepted in a printing environment such as the office environment. However, the POD environment assumes a case in which an operator skilled to a certain degree makes best use of the printing system. In the POD environment, it will be more important to minimize the down time of the printing system.
To meet this trend, the present invention pays attention to a configuration capable of executing a print operation as much as possible in the printing system even if the movable unit, e.g., cover unit of a sheet processing device such as a post-processing device is open. In the present invention, an operation associated with this configuration is called a continuous-run operation. However, various problems to be solved will arise from examination of practical use of products concerning the continuous-run operation receiving attention in the present invention.
For example, the movable unit of a given sheet processing device for use in the printing system is under maintenance, or is open due to, e.g., work to take out a printed material. Even in this case, the printing system allows execution of the print process of a job not influenced by this situation. The first problem is to provide a printing system capable of maintaining maximum productivity in consideration of future use cases and needs in the POD environment.
However, the market does not demand satisfaction of these needs, so a printing system capable of coping with the first problem has not been commercialized yet. It is important to provide a printing system capable of coping with the first problem.
To commercialize a printing system aiming at the future printing environment such as the POD environment, it is more important to provide a printing system capable of dealing with not only the first problem but also the following problem.
For example, it is difficult to satisfactorily create a printed material to be delivered to a customer even by a printing system configured to cope with the first problem because, for example, the operator does not notice that the movable unit of a sheet processing device is open. This inhibits the system from maintaining high productivity. Even the configuration capable of dealing with the first problem causes unexpected troubles as described above.
The present invention considers it important as a second problem that the configuration capable of coping with the first problem does not cause any.
As described above, there is much room for further study in commercializing a printing system capable of coping with the continuous-run operation.